Countered By Its Contrary
by writetherest
Summary: "You want it to end? You want to go back? Then kill the girl." Regina has a chance to change the ending, but will she take it? / Swan Queen pairing


**Author's Note:** Title taken from a line in the movie Tower of Terror - "A spell of passion can only be countered by its contrary". Unbetaed, so all mistakes are mine.

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><p>They stand facing each other, at what feels like the end of the world. Blood is dripping down Emma's chin, coming from her nose and the split lip that she's received in the fight.<p>

Blood red lips, snow white skin. _Déjà vu_, Regina thinks as she stares at her.

"Go ahead," Emma says, her voice strong, chin high. "Do it."

Regina just continues to stare at her, the words falling on deaf ears. The only thing she can hear is the voice still ringing in her ears, mixing with the voice from her memories.

_You must kill the thing you love the most_.

She thinks of her father, of the way she stabbed him through the heart in that other life that seems so long ago that she often pretends that it was all a dream. And she thinks of Henry, watching them both now, being held in Mary Margaret's arms. She has already destroyed so much.

"You want it to end? You want to go back? Then kill the girl." Gold hisses from beside her, still holding all the cards and moving them all about like pawns in his game. Regina refuses to be a pawn anymore. She turns to Gold, but before she can speak, Emma's hand is closing around her wrist, bringing her focus back to her.

"Regina," she whispers her name, "do it. This is your chance. You can go back. You can fix it all."

"No." Regina shakes her head.

"I asked you once what the hell happened to you." Emma reminds her. "I know now. I wasn't there. But I am now. This is what I was born to do."

"Emma, no." Mary Margaret cries.

Henry struggles against her hold with a cry of "Mom!"

"It's okay." She assures, her voice calm. "This is our chance to right the wrongs. I can fix things. And I will."

"Oh, Miss Swan. Such ideas you have about happy endings." Gold says, but Emma ignores him, because she's finally figured it all out and she knows what even he doesn't.

"Regina," she says one last time, "choose happiness this time."

And with that, she twists Regina's wrist enough that the woman's hand opens, allowing the dagger clutched in it to fall into Emma's waiting hands.

"You took everyone else's heart. But I'm giving you mine." She says before she plunges the dagger into her own chest, feeling the pain rip through her as she cuts her own flesh.

"No!"

Regina rushes to her, cradles her as she falls to the ground, and then Henry and Mary Margaret are beside her, while Gold watches on, enjoying the pain and knowing that they will all be sent back just to live their miserable lives all over again. They'll suffer for eternity.

With her last bit of strength, Emma uses her own hand to pull the heart from her body, depositing it into Regina's hand.

"Yours."

A white light spreads out from Emma's heart, covering them all, and Gold's laughter changes suddenly as he realizes that his own curse has somehow been broken.

"Choose happiness this time."

"Emma!" Regina sobs as the blood pours from the blonde's chest and the heart in her hand lays still, unbeating. Once again she has lost everything because she chose the darkness over the light.

But the light is still shining out, covering all of them and Gold's laughter is no longer in her ears. Instead, it is Emma's voice that echoes as the light sweeps her up.

_"Choose happiness this time."_

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><p>The flash hits her - hard - jolting her body backwards. She blinks to clear the light that still seems to be blinding her and her eyes slowly refocus on Rumpelstiltskin.<p>

"So," he drawls in his sing song voice, "do we have a deal?"

"Regina, don't."

It is the voice of her father and it mixes with the other voice in her head, overcoming her.

"You will be queen." Rumpelstiltskin pushes, the contract in hand. "You will rule over all. You shall have everything you desire."

And the temptation is great enough, the thought of power and happiness enough that she picks up the pen.

"That's it, dearie. Just sign. Sign and the king's heart shall be yours for the taking."

_"You took everyone else's heart. But I'm giving you mine."_

The words echo in her head and the flashes come again - the blonde in the red jacket dropping her heart into Regina's open hands. The pain of finally feeling something after years of emptiness.

_"Choose happiness this time."_

Regina takes the contract and looks at Rumpelstiltskin for along moment before she smiles. It is a wicked, twisted smile that forms on her face easily - a muscle memory that she should have, but does.

"Not this time." She tells him and enjoys the look of confusion that crosses his face just before the rips the unsigned contract in two.

Rumpelstiltskin lets out a horrific scream, as though part of him is being ripped as well.

"You'll pay for this!" He rages. "You think you'll have her? You'll never have her!"

And then, in a puff of smoke, Emma appears before Regina. Blood is still pouring from the gaping wound in her chest and she's staring blankly ahead.

"Emma."

The word slips from Regina's lips for the first time, except of course it isn't. She takes a shaky step forward, towards the younger woman.

Emma's dull, dead eyes turn to her. "Look what you've done to me."

"No," Regina whispers, shaking her head, but Emma presses on.

"It's your fault. You did this. And you'll do it again. I hate you."

"No." It's her worst nightmare coming true. She'd made the right decision this time, but the outcome is still the same.

She steps toward Emma, reaching out, but before she can touch her, the vision disappears and Rumpelstiltskin's evil laughter fills her ears.

"No! Emma!"

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><p>"Emma!" Regina sobs, sitting upright and gasping for breath.<p>

"Hey, hey," a voice comes to her through the darkness from beside her, "I'm here. I'm here."

She spins to look at the blonde, still lying with her hair spread out on the pillow. There is no blood staining her, only the pure white of her tank top hugging her body.

"Emma." She gasps again.

"Shh." Emma sits up and pulls Regina to her, gently taking her hand and placing it over her heart. "I'm here. I'm whole. It's okay."

"Lost you," Regina mumbles, grasping onto Emma's tank top, clinging to her and to the beating of the heart beneath her hand.

"No." Emma tells her. "You got me. Because you chose me, and you broke the curse."

"Rumpel -" Regina starts to say, the visions from the dream - from the other reality? - still vivid in her mind.

"Was defeated." Emma assures. "By you. Because you refused to give in. You fought, Regina. You chose happiness over all else."

Emma's strong, sure fingers work their way through Regina's dark tresses, soothing as they go. And slowly the flashes begin to come back and then fade away just as quickly to that dreamlike state that they always stay in, in the back of her mind.

She had refused to give in, had turned away from Rumpelstiltskin and his empty promises and tricks. She had refused to sign the contract, to be given the ability to take the hearts from people. She had been the first person strong enough not to give in to him, and so she had destroyed him and his curse.

"Remember?" Emma whispers into Regina's hair.

And slowly the brunette nods. She remembers everything. The hazy, dreamlike memories of her past life, of the Evil Queen and Storybrooke, the curse and the battle. And she remembers the parallel life she led in the Enchanted Forest, at least up until she'd destroyed Rumpelstiltskin and ended the curse.

But mostly she remembers this life in Storybrooke now, with Emma and Henry. She remembers joy and happiness and love, and yes, sadness and pain too. But it's all there, all of the emotions and none of the numbness, of the empty hole that had been her soul.

"Happiness." Regina repeats, untangling herself from Emma and looking her in the eye.

"Yes."

"Love."

Emma's smile is wide. "Yes."

"Henry was right," Regina whispers, tracing a finger over Emma's cheek. "You made everything better. You saved us."

Emma just rolls her eyes and laughs. "We saved each other."

And this time it's Regina who utters the word that says so much.

"Yes."


End file.
